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15 weeks and drank alcohol... how does this affect my baby?

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I'm 15 weeks along and i drank some alcohol last night. I'm pretty sure i threw it all up, but i haven't stopped throwing up. I'm thinking i might have gotten food poisoning also. But how does this affect my baby? It's not going to die now is it?

Mom Answers

You know what Shame on all of you, I have gone through two pregnancies already and I'm pregnant right now, I go drinking every weekend, and every one of my babies are just fine. Hell I bet some of y'all's parents consumed alcohol before they knew they were pregnant. And honey your baby will be fine. And so will you. Happy living ;)

Listen...honestly? These 'pregnancy preachers' are crazy. They are ALL the ones who won't even pop a tylenol for a migraine. F*** them! You drank too much, got sick...that's ALL! You aren't doing it daily and this DOES NOT make you a bad mother! The studies made are on ANIMALS with NO comparison to humans, and they are shown in vast amount. Hang in there! Don't sweat it, and please brush off the haters. They are pregnancy police who think they are better than us all...All of OUR parents had zero limitations, and aside from YOU people making others feel horrible, we're all fine! So take that!

This is my story, you decide if you will drink or not after reading it: I didn't know I was pregnant 6 years ago, in fact I took a pregnancy test before I decided to take a drink, and the test was negative. I drank, and a couple of days later I got what I thought was a light period (turns out it was implant bleeding) I continued to drink for another few weeks (probably 5or6 a day) until one morning when I woke up my sense of smell seemed heightened so I took another test. Turns out I was pregnant. Never drank again, ultrasounds, amnio, vitamins, very healthy pregnancy(my second. Baby born, healthy and met every milestone. She was a late talker but everyone said (including G.P) that seconds are. This year, now shes five, she was flagged yellow on her kindergarten tests and we are having her tested for auditory problems, memory problems, in my research she has alot of symptoms of FAS. I am sick, I have to take her to her doctor now and admit that I drank before I knew I was pregnant.

Honey, it sounds like all you're doing is making excuses for yourself. To say "I'm 19 years old. I don't know what I'm doing", but then turn around and be concerned says that you DO know what you're doing. You're old enough to stop being affected by peer pressure and to grow up. Peer pressure is an excuse - no one HAS to be affected by it. I had it all around me when I was a teenager. Instead I ignored it and was berated and bullied for it. Too bad. I was tons more mature than the rest of the kids in school. I never drank until I was old enough. There is a reason it is illegal to drink at 19. Don't be irresponsible. Grow up. You're going to be a mommy now, so it's time to act like an adult - you're definitely old enough to. If not for yourself, for your baby.

Your baby will be fine. There are people who do much worse than have a few drinks while being pregnant. Some drink, smoke or do drugs throughout their pregnancy, and amazingly sometimes their babies turn out fine. This is definatly not an excuse for anyone to do those things while pregnant, but your case I'm just saying not to beat yourself up over this incident. Just learn from it. It sounds like you feel it was wrong and guilty about it so I'm sure you probably won't want to do it again. Being pregnant for the first time is scary sometimes and difficult because you don't know what to expect, and especially at 19. Stay strong and take care of yourself and you will do fine.

Well, I've taken a lot of criticism for my response to your question. I have been curious about what others would say and have kept track of this question. I do want to say that I totally RESPECT you for acknowledging your responsibility. I know you are having a hard time because of your age and what is going on around you, but it takes an ADULT to admit you were wrong and seek to make a change. I did not say what I did to hurt your feelings or be unsupportive. I just didn't want to sugar coat it for you or anyone else who is trying to find some justification for taking unnecessary risks while pregnant. I am truly glad that your baby is healthy and truly wish you both the best. As for the "stick up my butt"... come live my life - come see all the kids I know who suffer from some level of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or whose parents would rather buy alcohol than pay for heat in the brutal winter in upstate NY.

Frankly I think the majority of people responding are being ridiculous. Theres a difference between having a glass or two of wine/beer and getting drunk. Wine and beer have been around for Thousands of years, do you really think it has been humanity's take never to drink one sip? I think not. I think at this point a pregnant womans body has evolved to be ok with small amounts of alcohol. And has anyone even looked into what the drinking policy's are in other countries?? There is practicaly none. Pregnant women in Europe drink SO much more than even I would feel safe about (and thats probably because I've been conditioned by American Society), and theres no generations of retards running rampid across other countries. My advice: Put American based research and recommendations in perspective. And don't listen to these self righteous women with sticks in their butts.

Thank you for all of your answers. Since then i've found out that my baby is fine. He's healthy and very active. We think the cause of throwing up was the food i had eaten that night.
As for the judgemental issue, she can say what she wants. Granted, this is a place to be uplifting and i'm sure most of that could have been said in an uplifting way, but i'm not hurt by it. What i did was wrong, yes. I'm 19 years old. I don't know what i'm doing. Sometimes i'm careless and irresponsible. I'm still affected by peer pressure from my friends. It's hard to do, really. I was not prepared for any of this, and sometimes i don't know how to handle it. I admit that i was wrong and made a mistake, and i'm not trying to make excuses for myself. I need a better base of people to be uplifting to me. Anyway, thank you all for your answers!

don't know why Megs1976 feels so compelled to be be so judgemental on this. you don't know if she drank to the point of throwing up b/c of the amount of alcohol intake or something else. the point of this log is to make it a place to seek help and understanding. there is no need to be so harsh, especially when you don't know the full story.

I felt compelled to respond. If she drank to the point of vomitting it is NOT moderation. She is NOT "doing the best (she) can by that baby". I think our society has become afraid of making someone feel bad, so people try to tell each other it's ok, when it's not. I'm a teacher. I've seen FIRST HAND what alcohol does to a child, and what effect alcoholic parents have on their children. This girl, and anyone else who thinks about drinking more than ONE here and there (the research seems to be divided on whether ONE glass is safe or not) needs to hear that drinking more than ONE drink IS WRONG, not "poor you for being judged." I am not sorry for what I said. I'm pregnant too, and is tough enough to worry about what could be going wrong when I'm doing just about everything I can to make sure I give my baby a healthy start - vitamins, nutrition, rest, plenty of water, etc. And I know that even if I do everything right, there are no garantees. I'm not tempting fate by choosing alcohol.

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